Scottish Budget: Shona Robison - "eradicating child poverty is our top priority"
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00:00We have heard people, and we are acting. This is a budget for Scotland by Scotland, and
00:06that is why I encourage all members to give it their support.
00:14Eradicating child poverty is our top priority. Policies such as the game-changing Scottish
00:20child payment and expanded funding for early learning and childcare are action in the face
00:27of need, but we want to go further. The budget will invest almost ยฃ800 million more in social
00:34security benefits in 2025-26, putting money directly into people's pockets and ensuring
00:41benefits rise by inflation.
00:44We recognise that having a warm, safe and affordable place to live is critical to tackling
00:51child poverty. Far too many families are still in temporary accommodation. Shirley-Anne Somerville
00:56has told me about the conversations that she has had with mums who feel the pain of
01:00bringing up their kids in inadequate accommodation. That is why we are going to ramp up action
01:07on housing by investing ยฃ768 million in affordable homes. That enables more than 8,000 new properties
01:16for social rent, mid-market rent and low-cost home ownership to be built or acquired this
01:21coming year, and it returns spending to a higher level than it was two years ago.
01:29Given the scale of the housing challenge, I will look at all the levers available for
01:33me to deliver. That is why I can confirm today that we will be working with the City of Edinburgh
01:38Council to unlock more than 800 new net zero homes at its grant and development site.